Gerard Montpetit

Gérard Montpetit was born in 1946 in eastern Ontario. Since 1979, he lives in La Présentation (35 km east of Montreal; exit #123 of the TransCanada highway) in a home he built himself.

After he obtained a diploma from the University of Ottawa, he taught in secondary schools for 33 years including 27 years for the school board of Saint-Hyacinthe. He retired in 2007.

In 1992, he became a member of the CCCPEM (comité des citoyens et citoyennes pour la protection de l'environnement maskoutain). Since 2010, he studies the negative side-effects of hydraulic fracturing. The fraxed gas well of La Présentation is approx. 8 km from his home while the drilling rig of the well of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu could be seen from his home in November 2010. These are the main reasons why he is involved with various environmental groups, all operating in a confederation of committees called RVHQ (Regroupement Vigilance Hydrocarbures du Québec).

He regularly writes articles which are published in various media. In order to have a sound future for coming generations, he is fighting to reduce the use of fossil fuels, which are responsible for climate change. He believes that the Paris Accord must be implemented as soon as possible.

In April 2017, he published an anthology of one hundred texts, written in French, entitled "L'histoire de la lutte aux hydrocarbures à travers 100 textes de Gérard Montpetit."

With the swearing in of Donald Trump as president of the United States last January, political analysts foresaw a marked regression in American environmental policies. The nomination of climate change...

In Le Soleil on March 9, Mr. Youri Chassin chastises groups which oppose certain projects, evoking the "nightmare of the investor" about a situation that "illustrates the very real risk that the conce...

On January 17, the Conservative Party of Canada held its only French-language debate of the leadership race. For anyone who believes that the French language should be an intrinsic part of the political life of Canada, it was an exercise in frustration. Of the 13 candidates who had the guts to participate in this sorry show, less than half were able to show the basic ability to debate in Canada's other official language.

Mr. Trudeau must choose between the anti-pipeline provinces like Quebec and British Columbia, and the interests of Alberta; between the oil industry magnates and the citizen opposition; between the oil economy with its short term goals and our international commitments for the reduction of greenhouse gases.

We were outraged when we became aware that companies had quietly claimed the subsoil under our feet. Bill 106 not only acknowledges this legalized burglary, but gives those companies legal priority over the owners of the land. Though Bill 106 is now legal, it is immoral and illegitimate.

On the 26th of November, the announcement became public: the government of Mr. Justin Trudeau had decided to approve Kinder Morgan's TransMountain pipeline to the port of Vancouver as well as renovati...

In the corridors of the National Assembly, the hyper-green speeches of Mr. Couillard seem to come from another planet. Bill 106 will have major impacts. According to the National Assembly website, it will modify 20 current laws as well as the Civil Code.

In this bill, there is a little goodie for the ecologists on the subject of energy transition, but the rest of the provisions are so favourable to the industry that one might believe that an industry lobbyist wrote it. Agnotology is to actively promote ignorance in order to promote one's product.

For several decades, the urgency to fight climate change has been systematically paralyzed by the climate deniers. In order to deliberately create confusion in public opinion and block all concerted political action which might attempt to remedy the situation, the fossil fuel magnates have spent millions on pressure groups or bogus foundations.

Before using the threat of equalization payments as a "poke in the ribs" to provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec, perhaps the petroleum industry should rethink its own dependency on subsidies. It should be aware that it, too, is vulnerable to budgetary policy.

As the month of August draws to a close, the National Energy Board (NEB) begins its hearings on the Energy East pipeline project amidst a swirl of controversy. But the most objectionable aspect of the hearings of the NEB is the fact that it is engulfed in a sea of questionable ethical considerations.

Ezra Levant is angry with the NO delivered to Energy East from the 82 mayors of Montreal's Urban Community to TransCanada Pipelines last January, and is accusing Mayor Coderre of favouring "Shariah" petroleum by saying NO to the "ethical" petroleum of Canada. But there is an important major flaw in Mr. Levant's argument.

On the TV news and in newspapers, we have seen that a pipeline, property of Husky Oil, has spilled more than 200,000 litres of petroleum in the North Saskatchewan River. The oil slick is rapidly moving downstream, polluting the river bottom as well as the drinking water of wildlife, livestock and the citizens living in its watershed.

President Obama rejected Keystone XL because he was convinced it was not "in the best interest" of his country. Unhappy with this decision, TransCanada Pipelines chose to directly challenge the sovereignty of the government of the United States with this $15-billion lawsuit.

Energy East is more than a mere pipe that transports the product from point A to point B. It is an essential link of the industry. It is clear that Energy East is co-responsible for all the GHG produced by the 1,100,000 barrels that will travel through this pipeline on a daily basis.

I can understand that Alberta faces economic hardships; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the cabinet meeting would examine the challenges that Alberta has to face because the price of petroleum has fallen through the floor. But in 2015-16, is the building of pipelines an appropriate remedy for the economic woes of Alberta?

In the beginning of the 21st century, should Canada, an industrial nation of the G8, have a diversified, knowledge-based economy? Or will we allow ourselves to again become a ''company town," an economic dinosaur at the mercy of the price fluctuations of the market?